Lullabies

Malcolm's a music fan and so his nighttime ritual includes (after tooth-brushing) being rocked for the length of two lullabies. He's a critic, too, and lets me know which songs he wants to hear. Usually if he likes a song, he'll settle down and get comfortable; if he doesn't want to hear a particular song, he'll fidget or complain, sometimes touch my cheek or put his hand on my mouth. And when he finds a tune he likes, he sticks with it for several nights before giving it up for something new. I sometimes have to run through a number of songs before I find one he wants to hear on that specific night. It can be difficult to come up with songs that I know all the words to and that can even be loosely considered lullabies. Often I have to go with what I've been listening to on CD or something I've heard on the radio recently, which is how at Christmas-time we got stuck in a "Same Old Lang Syne" (Dan Fogelberg) groove for a while. Let me tell you, I was glad when he finally decided to shelve that one.

For March, we've been sticking with an Irish theme (in honor of St. Patrick's Day). Selections include:

• Wild Colonial Boy
• The Minstrel Boy
• Danny Boy (Okay, what is it with the Irish and their "boys?")
• Toora Loora Looral
• Mo Ghile Mear (When I can remember enough of the gaelic lyrics to muddle through)

Honestly, though, lyrically most Irish songs don't seem very lullaby-like, what with the focus on drinking and death. (For example, there's a gunfight at the end of Wild Colonial Boy resulting in Jack Doolan getting shot through the heart). Malcolm loves them all, though. (He also likes "The Wild Rover" but it's a little too fast and upbeat for a lullaby).